2nd Annual Functional Horsemanship - Red Bird Ranch Arena Obstacle Challenge

The 2nd Annual Functional Horsemanship -Red Bird Ranch Arena Obstacle Challenge will be held on Saturday 24 September 2016. This event is not being conducted under any national organization but will be similiar to the Arena Obstacle Challenges (AOC) conducted under the American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA).

Although this will not be a timed event like the Extreme Cowboy Association (EXCA) events, the 13-14 obstacles riders will face are intended to be negotiated one right after the other as opposed to doing them as all separate obstacles.

A horse and rider will enter the arena and perform back to back tasks that are either demonstrating basic horsemanship skills or an ability to complete an obstacle.  Examples would be: open, go through and close a gate; retreive a slicker from the fence and put the slicker on; side pass over a pole; execute a 360 degree turn with forward movement while inside a 6' x 6' box; demonstrate a turn in the forehand or on the hocks; retrieve a rope and drag a bag of cans a short distance.    You can go to this link  to read about last year's AOC, see the results, and watch the demonstration video of last year's 1st AOC to get a better idea. 

We will have a great prize table this year as we did last year. There will be only one fee ($45) which covers entry and lunch for competitors. We will have three competition categories: Open, Intermediate and Novice. These would be basically compatible with the Open, Competitive and Scout division under ACTHA. There will be no loping/ cantoring requirements for the Novice and Intermediate Divisions. I am going to limit number of competitors to 20 due primarily to space and time considerations.

For information you can e-mail clinics-events@functionalhorsemanship.com or call me at (915) 204-7995. Entry fees for the AOC are $45 payable by credit card over the phone, through e-mail, or by pay-pal.

Travis Gonzales from One Stop Horse Shop out of Las Cruces, New Mexico will be on hand to demonstrate and provide vertical vibration therapy (TheraPlate). He is also a certified equine massage therapist, certified equine dentist and does non-sedation teeth floating and trims/shoes as well. Travis' prices are approximately: TheraPlate session $45; trims $45; shoes (all the way around) $90; and, teeth floating $100.